Afro Samurai is a game that is at odds with itself. Whatever points it earns for a stunning art style are almost summarily dismissed by stilted gameplay, bugs, and repetitive content. While the play experience is distinctly cleaner on PS3 (which lacks the game-stopping bugs found on the 360 version), the absence of technical issues doesn't overshadow what is essentially a mindless hack 'n slasher of the most pedestrian variety. Stylish though it may be, Afro Samurai simply isn't worth your precious time, especially with so many other, superior games, such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Devil May Cry 4, vying for your attention.


Afro!

Afro Samurai is basically a cel-shaded, stripped-down Ninja Gaiden Sigma that sports an innovative cross-hatchy anime look, but without Ninja Gaiden's extensive depth of gameplay. Although Afro has a number of combos at his disposal, these are largely disposable as none are truly required to progress through the game. As a result, gameplay devolves into rote button-mashing that demands neither skill nor talent.

Contrary to this is the fact that time spent learning the ins and outs of Afro's limited move set can result in some pretty engaging, cinematic battles. If there is one thing that Afro Samurai succeeds in it's capturing a cinematic feel, with classic film tropes like slow-motion, split-screen and black-and-white shots. When played by someone who knows what they're doing, Afro Samurai comes to life as one part classic samurai movie and one part hip-hop homage to anime films. Of course, this takes a dedication to the performance that the gameplay simply doesn't encourage, because even at Afro Samurai's best it will only offer you yet another crowd of same-y straw-hatted samurai enemies to slash into bloody chunks.